Needle- and syringe-exchange programs aim to decrease infections among those who are dependent on injection drugs. Some have questioned whether church sponsorship of such programs constitutes illicit cooperation in the evil of drug abuse. This article examines the question under classical formulations of cooperation and in light of current empirical evidence and concludes that this

To resolve questions regarding ovarian tissue transplantation, the author proposes a metaphysical theory positing that the common ensoulment shared by all the cells in a woman’s body is manifested primarily in her immune system’s ability to distinguish her own cells from those of another. The author therefore suggests that human procreation, to be morally licit,

Migration, a defining dimension of human history since its very origins, is slowly becoming a significant issue in contemporary theological reflection. Reviewing the theological literature on this phenomenon in the last 30 years, the author reconstructs the recent history of the theology of migration, analyzes its relevance in Latino/a and Asian American theologies in the

The author examines the unique contributions of exclusivism to the Christian theological discussion of religious diversity. Exclusivist theologians develop epistemologically oriented approaches while inclusivist and pluralist theologians tend to work from soteriological orientations. The epistemological orientation leads exclusivists to regard religions as foundational for truth claims and believers as their agents. As such, exclusivists are

Nineteenth-century priest, philosopher, and theologian Antonio Rosmini argued that the ordinary way of appointing bishops must be through elections by the local clergy and people. All other procedures, including papal nominations, are extraordinary measures that must be resorted to only as a “lesser evil” when exceptional circumstances prevent carrying out elections. This article recovers and

The article derives from Theodore of Mopsuestia’s Commentary on the Gospel of John, wherein Theodore describes how he understood Christ’s two natures being united in “one common proso¯ pon.” He regards proso¯ pon not as a synonym for hypostasis, as the Second Council of Constantinople did, but as the functional union of Christ’s two natures

The article addresses a recent claim regarding Aquinas’s understanding of voluntary human action; namely, that moral species is determined by an object that functions as the proximate end of a chosen behavior. This reply examines the context of the argument, the text on which the argument is said to be based, and Aquinas’s more specific

At the 2009 convention of the Catholic Theological Society of America, the author advocated for a more rhetorically robust and closer-to-the-truth style in theological ethics. In this note, he examines those works that embody that style by capturing the urgency and immediacy of moral truth as lived in the lives of contemporary Christians. In particular,

In the past few years, a variety of alarming narratives, global concerns addressed locally, and new biotechnological developments have shaped contemporary bioethical discourse. This note identifies (1) five of these narratives that come from other disciplines: history, journalism, surgery, literature, and personal experience; (2) original voices, particularly from Asia and Africa, that shape the innovations